The Brighton band Squid has released their third studio album, “Cowards,” on February 7, 2025. The album features nine songs that explore the dark themes of evil and gruesome behaviors. Ollie Judge, the band’s drummer and vocalist, introduces the album with the track “Crispy Skin,” which is inspired by the novel “Tender Is The Flesh” by Agustina Bazterrica.
The song’s lyrics imagine life as a cannibal, with Judge singing, “We love their crispy skin / ‘Cause it’s something that we crave.”
Squid’s songwriting and lyricism have sharpened on “Cowards,” capturing an illness at the heart of the world. The album represents the band’s attempt to focus on songcraft and differentiate it from the complex layers of their 2023 predecessor. Judge has described the album as a book of dark fairytales, departing from observational scenes and characters to create a haunting fantasy world that mirrors our own.
exploring dark themes and evil
The band has cited a vast array of influences, including Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album “Nebraska,” which is largely written about evil people but peppered with fleeting moments of redemption. Musically, Squid continues to evolve on “Cowards.” The guitars simmer and serpentine, and the song structures are articulate even in their wandering.
The band seamlessly combines intricate arrangements with experimental sounds, manipulating and looping more acoustic instruments like sampled timpani and bicycle spokes. The album’s lyrical content revolves around the evil that men do, with nine vignettes from the perspectives of cannibals and murderers. Judge’s fragmentary and abstract observations paint visceral pictures in the imagination.
While some may miss the intense and explosive krautrock of their debut, the adventurous spirit with which Squid tackles post-rock, fusion, and broader soundscapes ensures that this is the most exciting and volatile the group has ever sounded. “Cowards” sees Squid evolving into one of Britain’s most innovative and exploratory bands.